The present invention relates to water soluble bulking agents useful to maintain volume and functional properties in food formulations when the usual fat and/or carbohydrate constituents are removed or replaced. Such fat and/or carbohydrate constituents include vegetable oils or dairy fats and sucrose. In particular, hemicellulose fractions such as hemicellulose A or hemicellulose B, as well as modifications and combinations of the preceding, are employed to replace part or all of the bulk of carbohydrates and fats in foods where the carbohydrate and fat content has been reduced or eliminated. agents.
The lack of an adequate bulking agent for fat or carbohydrate replacement is a serious problem encountered in the food industry. When high potency sweeteners are used as replacements for sucrose, this is a particularly serious problem in formulations such as confections, ice cream, frozen novelties, and baked goods, etc., which depend greatly on the "non-sweet" functional properties of sucrose. These so-called "non-sweet" properties of sucrose include flavor enhancement, freezing point depression, bulkability, boiling point elevation, glass formation, moisture retention, texture maintenance, increased viscosity, hydration control, and caramelization. Without these functional properties, it is difficult to simulate conventional food formulations because high potency sweeteners generally have the sweetness of sugar but usually not these other "non-sweet" functional properties. In addition to the above difficulties, some sugar bulking agents currently in use such as polydextrose, sorbitol, and maltitol cause osmotic diarrhea.
Fats also have functional properties which must be simulated if the fat is acceptably replaced by a bulking agent or fat substitute. These properties include texture improvement, dispersion of non-water soluble ingredients, increased viscosity, lubrication, air incorporation, bulkability, and preservation of freshness.
The present invention provides water soluble bulking agents which replace many of the functional characteristics of carbohydrates and fats when used in food formulations.